Carl Magnus Plsson

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• Carl Magnus Pålsson
• Research Policy Institute
• Lund university

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How to collaborate-without losing identity,
patience or credibility

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• Initial questions
• What are the societal and scientific mechanisms
  behind collaboration?
• How has the collaborative climate changed in
  the last couple of decades? (If indeed it has!?)

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Perspectives

• Research policy perspective
• Policy
• I.e.general conditions for research
• Politics and ideology
• Economy
• Multidisciplinarity
• Relativization of disciplinary boundaries

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• Science, technology society
• STS
• Science in context
• Science as a social product

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• Research knowledge production
• Gibbons et al (1994)
• The new production of knowledge The dynamics of
  science and research in contemporary societies
• Mode 1 gt Mode 2

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• From the linear model
• to
• messy complexity?

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The Linear model
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• 19th century
• The Humboldt university
• Berlin 1810
• Lehrfreiheit
• Lernfreiheit
• Academic research
• Ideology vs. reality?

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• 20th century
• Vannevar Bush (1945), USA
• Science The endless frontier
• Linear model

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• The linear model
• Production
• ?
• Application
• ?
• Basic research

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• Mode 1-funding according to the linear model
• Research councils
• headed by scientists
• Sectoral agencies
• societal/political influence

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Messy complexity?
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• Mode 2
• on the level of policy and ideology
• Claims about a new science-society contract a
  new role for science
• Exit the linear model
• Instead more interactive processes
• Feed-back recursivity

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Pol. Ec. context for mode 2

• Expansion of the university system
• higher formal general level of education
• Research performed in many more settings (esp.
  univ., industry, gov. labs)
• Widened need scope for interaction across
  various boundaries
• Relatively diminishing public funds available for
  research
• Broadened funding base for research

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• Basic research
• vs.
• Externally defined problems
• Societal relevance
• Commerzialisation
• Moral values pure science?

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• Co-production of science and social order
• Scientification of politics?
• Gain of legitimacy?
• Politicization of science?
• Loss of legitimacy?
• Implications relevance
• Pure science no more?
• Recurring negotiations among various social
  interests?

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• Critique
• against the validity of the mode 2-thesis
• the modes have been there
• parallel for a long period
• Mode 2 too confirmative of recent
• trends politically correct
• too market-oriented
• the thesis is to vague and
• confined to certain disciplines
• funding ? research
• institutional ? fundamental change

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• Question
• Is there an emerging conflict between
• (1) The integrity of science
• (2) Economy, management
• institutions

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• Epistemic drift
• Funding
• Policy goals
• Elzinga
• Erosion of scientific internalist criteria?
• Science under pressure?
• Epistemic drift?

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How to collaborate-without losing identity,
patience or credibility

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• How does these discussions relate to the everyday
  pursuit of science?

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• Consequences?
• Application-perspective at early stages of the
  reserach-process?
• Relatively more effort into collaboration,
  organizational work networking?
• Justification of research in terms of social
  political utility
• Enter the academic entrepreneur?
• Raised transaction-costs in transdisciplinary
  settings?
• Other???

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Alternatives?